Screams Echoing Through The Halls
by Noxialis
Summary: Set during the school festival. Tooru and Yuujirou decide to find Mikoto and Megumi, and the one likely spot is the haunted house. TooruxYuujirou


_Think of this as a belated Halloween sort of story. I was going to make it for Halloween, but... Management got in the way. Here you go anyways!_

**Screams Echoing Throughout The Halls**

It was all Mikoto's fault. They blamed him.

Just because he wanted to hang out with his girlfriend without her finding out about the Princess job – why did he bother to bring her over to the festival in the first place, then? It just didn't make any sense – Tooru and Yuujirou were left all by themselves. Then he had the audacity to call their outfits 'strange'. The last straw. The very last, final straw.

Tooru and Yuujirou just had to find Mikoto now. But obviously Mikoto realized that the two other Princesses had reached this conclusion, and now he was nowhere to be found. Tooru and Yuujirou's heels clicked on the floors as they walked by, purpose written across their faces, nearly daring anyone to try and approach them. It didn't stop a few people from trying, but they were quickly dealt with.

"Damn that Mikoto, he's nowhere to be found!" Yuujirou said, hissing under his breath.

"He's probably hiding somewhere." Tooru scowled, glancing around as though Mikoto and Megumi would walk around the corner at any moment. Sadly, that did not happen.

"Probably in one of the events." Yuujirou realized, standing up straight as he tried to remember what they all were. "What were they?"

Tooru frowned, crossing his arms across his chest as he racked his brain for a schedule. "Hmm, I think the choir's doing something, as well as some sporting events, but… Oh!" Tooru's eyes snapped to attention and he swiveled around to look right at Yuujirou, who blinked back at him. "What about the haunted house?"

Yuujirou pondered this for a moment, placing a finger elegantly across his chin. "Haunted house… Yes, that seems likely. It's always the place dates go, trying to get the girl scared to cling onto her date… Plus, it's dark, so it would be less likely that we would be able to see him if he was there. Let's go check it out!" Tooru nodded exuberantly and trailed after Yuujirou, the two of them lightly jogging down the hall and up the steps to the area that had been set aside for the haunted house.

The haunted house itself was made from an entire corner of the school, including five whole classrooms as well as the hall connecting them. The entrance was guarded by a robed student, effectively putting on his creepiest smile in order to set the mood. It certainly sent a quick chill down Tooru's spine.

The inside of the entrance was certainly dark, and Tooru found himself putting his hands out in front of him in order to know where the hell he was going. His fingers brushed against Yuujirou's sleeve, soft fabric sending a jolt from his skin. A moment later, a light shone from the side, instantly bringing forth the gaze of the two Princesses.

It was a candle, probably not spontaneously lit, but it certainly seemed that way to the two. It had been set on a table, next to cobwebs and what looked to be small, dusty bones. Tooru had to remind himself that those were most likely just chicken bones. Another candle lit, to their other side, revealing more creepy items. The two walked on like that, a new candle lighting every time they passed the previous one.

"How are we supposed to find Mikoto in this light?" Yuujirou grumbled, his voice tense. Tooru couldn't tell if he was just angry and irritated, or if the dark atmosphere was getting to him. Tooru just shrugged and made a non-committal noise that sounded a bit too much like a squeak for his own comfort.

At the point where they had finished with the first room, they noticed the light left by the candles was slowly disappearing. Of course. They were being extinguished, leaving them in the dark. _Perfect…_ Tooru thought, wishing he could express just how much sarcasm he wanted to within his own thoughts.

They were guided into the next room by bolts of velvety black fabric creating a tunnel through the hall. This room, Tooru noted happily, had more light shining in. Okay, so it happened to also be in a purple sort of tint, but at least now he could see where he was going!

They stepped onto the dirt path, a bit in the back of their minds noting that this was probably going to be hell to clean up afterwards, and then Tooru almost wished he was wrapped in the darkness again. It was, after all, a very real looking skeleton.

_It's just a fake, it's just a fake. Probably made from plasticine or something!_ Tooru chose this to be his mantra as he felt every hair on his arms rise up. His skin felt too clammy, and he instinctively brought his hands up to his biceps, rubbing them softly to get a bit more of a blood flow going on.

"Getting scared, are we?" Yuujirou's voice cut through Tooru's mantra and he tore his eyes away from the totally not-real skeleton to look into Yuujirou's golden eyes.

"Hahn?" he said, before realizing what the question was. "Uh, no, what makes you say that?" He laughed nervously, quickly pressing his hands back to his sides.

"Well, I've already traveled ten feet, while you've remained rooted to that spot, staring at the decorations." Yuujirou replied, a smirk gracing his features as though it was funny that Tooru happened to be a wee bit unnerved. Tooru scowled and hurried to catch up.

The next room was hardly any better. Tooru cursed that they had yet to run across Mikoto, let alone anyone, and were thus no closer to their goal than at the beginning. He wondered if they would be able to just turn around and go back the way they came. At least that way he knew what they were going to face. He turned his head back, blue hairs gracefully flipping through the air with the motion.

Tooru would not call it a scream. It wasn't even a squeak. The noise that emerged from between his lips was more like a squawk, a sound that caused Yuujirou's head to spin around and see what was so frightening. There was a student there, dressed up in robes and feathers and a large quantity of fake blood guarding the door. Obviously, Tooru realized, retreat was not an option.

"Are you sure you're not scared?" Yuujirou teased, that smirk back in his eyes. Tooru had enough of his mind left to pull a face at the blonde boy, but didn't say anything until he grabbed his hand with both of his own, pulling it towards his chest and hugging it tight.

"Shut up." He said crossly, his face aflame, and he heard Yuujirou chuckle. What the other boy's face was would remain a mystery, as Tooru swore to keep his gaze on the dirt path below him, just in front of his feet.

What looked to be intestines and other organs poked into Tooru's line of sight, dancing at the corners as he walked onwards, Yuujirou in tow. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, having his eyes glued to what was in front of his feet, but he had to get out of there without getting scared again. He was so focused, he almost didn't hear Yuujirou's voice calling out, "Tooru, watch out!"

Tooru's eyes instinctively lifted along with his head, and found himself face to face with a decaying corpse tacked up against the wall. There were parts of its skeleton showing where the skin and muscle had been scraped away, and a few fingers and ribs were missing. Blood dripped from the chin, its elbows and toes, forming a pool of red liquid that almost reached Tooru's shoes. Half of its face was crushed in, and on the other side the eyeball was dangling out of its socket, waving in a breeze Tooru couldn't feel.

There was a moment of pure shock, where all Tooru could do was stare at the thing, wide-eyed. Then he felt a tremor shake throughout his entire body, and his throat made a gurgled sound before he let loose a full-fledged scream.

He launched himself backwards, accidentally letting go of Yuujirou's hand in the process, and landed three feet away. His feet swiftly slipped and gave up on him, and Tooru landed roughly on his rear, still screaming his head off.

"Tooru! Tooru, calm down!" Yuujirou attempted to console him, kneeling down beside the boy, touching his shoulder. Tooru shivered, then grabbed Yuujirou and wrapped the boy in a hug, shoving his face into the soft fabric that covered Yuujirou's chest and screamed into that, a few tears staining the material.

"Princess! Princess!" The sound of the student that followed them could be heard, and he rushed over to help. Yuujirou quickly shooed him away before his frightening appearance could unhinge Tooru any more. He left, though soon the cries of other students worrying for the safety of their beloved Princess could be heard.

Face still buried in Yuujirou's chest, Tooru was escorted out of the haunted house and into a nearby classroom. The students, at least ten were there, all clamored and made an overall clatter to find out how Princess Tooru was doing. Yuujirou barked orders at them, telling them to fetch the two of them a drink and some food. The room emptied fast, the students eager to please their angelic and beautiful Princess.

"Tooru, are you okay?" Yuujirou asked, his voice soft. Tooru had long since stopped screaming, though his eyebrows were still knitted together and his lips tight. The tears were threatening to spill over his eyelashes once more, but for now they were held at bay. He didn't answer, and Yuujirou snaked an arm across Tooru's shoulders, bringing him closer while muttering small words of comfort.

"Sorry for that." Tooru mumbled eventually, after their drinks and food were delivered and the student ushered out once more by Yuujirou. The blonde turned his head from the door he had just closed and walked over to Tooru, smoothing out his skirt once he stood in front of the boy.

"You don't need to apologize." Yuujirou told him, bending over and wiping away the remnants of the tear tracks that adorned Tooru's cheeks. "It was a rather convincing haunted house. Phew," he said, whistling a little while. "You would not have been able to handle the last two rooms."

"You've gone already?" Tooru asked, a little surprised, and lifted his gaze to look at Yuujirou.

"Mm, yeah, real early. It must've taken so much work to get that slaughterhouse room done…" Yuujirou said, trailing off with a smile. Tooru made a small 'hm' noise and dropped his gaze, still shamed by his earlier screams. Yuujirou tilted his head, looking at him. "Well, come on. Since Mikoto probably wouldn't be able to handle that in the slightest, let's find another place to look."

Tooru nodded, then paused before he would get up. "Wait, did you ever expect Mikoto to go to the haunted house?"

"No, not really."

"What?!" Tooru exclaimed, head swiveling to face Yuujirou. "Then why did we even go?!"

Yuujirou smiled, cheeks turning a touch pink. He leaned in closer, going slowly so as to not alert Tooru. "Well, how else could I trick you into holding my hand?" Tooru's eyes widened at that statement, his face turning pink, and Yuujirou swooped in, placing his lips against the corner of Tooru's mouth. He pulled away, taking pride in how much redder the blue-haired boy's face had gone.

"Now, we should focus on Mikoto. Where would he be now?"

"Yuujirou…" Tooru's voice rose, and Yuujirou glanced back to see Tooru has risen from his seat. "You could have just asked." And as Yuujirou blinked at him, Tooru slipped his hand into Yuujirou's, lacing their fingers together.

"Tooru…"

"We should assure everyone that I'm quite alright." Tooru said, cheeks still pink, a shy smile on his face.

Yuujirou nodded dumbly, and the two opened the door, the screams of "Princess! Are you alright?" echoing down the hall.

END


End file.
